Trent Woods will always cherish the final day he spent with his dad, Mike. The father and son met at the Biscuit Express early on the morning of Dec. 31, 2016, and rode to Mike’s burned-out childhood home off Hwy. 106 in Hull.
Mike’s stepmother had lived in the house after his father, Lonnie, passed away in 1985, then his half sister lived in the house until it burned.
“We were walking over the mounds of stuff,” said Trent. “It looked weird. It had been rained on. You’re walking over mounds of packed in paper and fiberglass and insulation. She (the half sister) still had clothes in the closet she had never gotten out. I looked through his house for the first time. I was digging through stuff in the floor. Part of the bed was still there.”
Of course, Mike Woods wasn’t just Mike. He was “Big Dawg.” His wife, Dianne, painted his bald head with a Georgia Bulldog for each football game and the Madison County man became a celebrity Bulldog fan in recent years, always on TV, always a focus of media and fan attention. But he suffered a massive heart attack on Jan. 2, then passed away two days later at the age of 65. Trent, his mom Dianne, his brother Michael and sister Laura were heartbroken.
But Trent was thankful he got a final, meaningful visit with his dad. He remembers how his father pointed out numerous things at the old house.
“He kept talking about I remember this and I remember that,” said Trent. “He was talking about the barn that had fallen in. And your grandfather had this over here and that over there. And that right there is where my room was.”
Trent said his dad seemed either emotional or perhaps winded. He kept sighing.

“I kept looking back at dad and he kept taking deep breaths and I remember being sitting there thinking, he had just lost his sister the June of that year, Linda,” said Trent. “And so I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Is he heavy hearted right now or is he having blood-pressure issues?’ He just kept sighing. And I was like, ‘Are you all right?’ He was like, ‘Yeah, I’m cold. We need to go.’”
Trent’s last memory of his granddad, Lonnie, was in that house on New Year’s Eve. Trent was a New Year’s Day baby. He recalled his granddad giving him birthday licks, that old spanking tradition of getting a slap for each year of life.
That was on a Dec. 31, 1985, and that was his last visit with his granddad. The next time he was at that house was Dec. 31, 2016, and it was the final time Trent saw his dad.
“I know I won’t ever take anyone I love to that place on Dec. 31,” said Trent. “It’s sacred ground.”
That morning, the father and son rode back to Biscuit Express after visiting the burnt home. Maybe it was the emotion of visiting his dad’s childhood home, but Trent didn’t want to leave his father.
“We go back to my jeep and I gave him a hug and kiss bye and told him I love him,” said Trent. “And I went back home, and then later went out for New Year’s. I got a text that night, because he always texted on my birthday. He said, “Happy, happy, happy birthday Trenton Lonnie Lee Woods. Your grandpawould be proud of you, Dad.’ I texted back, ‘Thank you and Love you! Happy New Years to you.” That was the last contact I had with him.”
Later, Trent thought about how close he was to not having that final day with his dad.
The two had met Dec. 30 at Beef O’Brady’s on the east side in Athens to watch the Georgia Bulldogs beat TCU, 31-23, in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis. Trent watched many games over the years with his dad, his family and his dad’s friend, Charlie “Soft Pony” O’Kelley, who went to games with “Big Dawg” with a “G” painted on his head and goes by “Mini G.” They sat at the top of section 135 in Sanford Stadium. “Big Dawg” and his crew weren’t able to make it to the bowl game and so Trent and his dad ate at the restaurant after having a mixup on who was picking up wings and from what restaurant. Big Dawg had wanted to pick up wings from “the good place.” He called Trent and said, “I thought you ordered wings.” Trent thought the “good place” was Beef O’Brady’s. Big Dawg thought it was another place. By the time “Big Dawg” got to the Athens restaurant, the game had started and they just stayed put.
Trent’s mom, Dianne, had been sick on Christmas and they weren’t able to exchange gifts. So, after the game, “Big Dawg” went to his son’s house. Trent’s wife, Mandy, had made a bath robe for her father-in-law, with “Big Dawg” stitched on it, but the letters were turned at an angle that she wanted to fix. Trent joked that it would make it easy to read his identity if he fell over. But Mandy wanted to do another one for him. Trent said his dad wouldn’t mind. He’d be glad to wear it.
As “Big Dawg” was leaving, he hollered at his son from his truck.
“You never took me to see your grandfather’s house,” he said.
Trent said he and his dad often jabbed at each other in a good-natured, but pointed way. He wondered why his dad waited until he was leaving to hit him with a guilt trip. He nearly hollered: “Kiss my #@%!” But he said he feels like there was some divine intervention, like God had a hand in his more thoughtful response.
“It was God,” said Trent. “Months after this, I was sitting at church (Cornerstone in Athens) and the pastor was talking about having anger issues and the Holy Spirit just shut him up and it dawned on me. It shut him up so he didn’t say something he would regret. And as I sat there I realized, something that day told me to, ‘Shut up. Shut up.’ That was mine and dad’s back and forth banter. But instead, I just said, ‘Can we go in the morning?’ To get to watch that last football game with him and then take him to my grandfather’s place, it was special.”
There have been plenty of real and surreal moments for Trent since his dad’s passing. His mom’s mom passed away just three months after his dad died, meaning his mother, Dianne, had a terribly difficult year. Trent had “to be continued” painted on his head at the spring G-Day game, signaling that the family tradition of a painted Bulldog on a bald head wouldn’t end.
It was a long-time tradition, dating back to 1980 when Trent’s grandfather, Lonnie, drove a bus for UGA to New Orleans for the national championship showdown with Notre Dame. Lonnie had a Bulldog painted on his head and was pictured on national TV. He kept it up and became known for the look. Lonnie was a decorated WWII veteran who served in multiple theaters of war and suffered a gunshot wound that had a lingering effect on his health. He moved from the university’s plumbing service to his transit service later in life. Trent said Lonnie started out as a “Wood,” not “Woods,” but the military made a clerical error, adding an “S” to the name. And it stuck. Lonnie was the son of Lee Topper Wood, who moved from the Wahala, S.C. area to Madison County to help construct the historic county courthouse in the center of Danielsville.
Mike Woods went several years after his father’s passing without having the Bulldog on his head. But he picked up the tradition again around 1993 and continued for nearly a quarter of a century, going not just to football games but gymnastics and other sporting events. Trent remembered how long it would take his dad to get into Sanford Stadium. He was stopped so often for a picture with fans that he had to budget far more time than the average person.
“A lot of times we’d just have to say, ‘We’ll see you in there,’” recalled Trent.
Trent’s brother, Michael, also painted his head to honor their dad this year. Trent said he sees himself carrying on his dad and granddad’s tradition for years to come.
And when his mom painted his head for the first Georgia game of the season versus Appalachian State, the Woods family walked up the steps to their place in section 135. Trent said he heard loud cheering and then turned around to see what was happening on the field. But soon, he realized that the fans were cheering for him and for the continuation of a Bulldog tradition that had gotten quite a bit of attention in recent years. He said the family had hoped to see their dad honored on the Sanford Stadium big screen, but that didn’t happen. But it was fine. The fans made their feelings known.
“The Georgia fans are the best in the world,” he said. “I felt like I became ‘Big Dawg’ in that moment.”
The Georgia Bulldogs enjoyed one of their greatest seasons in school history. And there were numerous highlights on the field. Trent got to attend both of the nail-biter playoff games. He also had numerous people come up to him during the season and put their arm around him and say, “I remember when your dad said this” or “Or, I really appreciated your dad.” The deep grieving of losing a father wouldn’t go away, but the comforts from strangers were powerful and appreciated. Trent said so much of the season was a blur.
“But I know my dad and grandfather were up there in heaven and they were looking down on us,” he said.
Trent said he’s going to do his part to make sure the Woods tradition of “Big Dawg” lives on.